Goodreads: In the spirit of Colleen Hoover and Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You, an unforgettable and heartbreaking love story with an earth-shattering secret at its core that asks the question: is love worth risking everything for?

An earth-shattering secret. A life-changing love story.

When Wren realizes her fiance is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover.

On the other side of the world, Anders lost his wife four years ago and is still struggling to move on.

Wren hopes that spending the summer with her dad and step-family on their farm in Indiana will help her to heal. There, amid the cornfields and fireflies, she and Anders cross paths and their worlds are turned upside-down again.

But Wren doesn’t know that Anders is harboring a secret, and if he acts on any feelings he has for Wren it will have serious fall-out for everyone. Walking away would hurt Wren more than she can imagine. But, knowing the truth, how can she possibly stay?

I have heard a lot about this book.
I am looking forward to reading it.

Author: Nicole Deese
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Genre: Christian Fiction
Source: Bethany House Publishers ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Three friends. Two broken promises. One missing manuscript.

As a senior acquisitions editor for Fog Harbor Books in San Francisco, Ingrid Erikson has rejected many a manuscript for lack of defined conflict and dramatic irony–two elements her current life possesses in spades. In the months following the death of her childhood best friend and international bestselling author Cecelia Campbell, Ingrid has not only lost her ability to escape into fiction due to a rare trauma response, but she’s also desperate to find the closure she’s convinced will come with Cecelia’s missing final manuscript.

After Ingrid jeopardizes her career, she fears her future will remain irrevocably broken. But then Joel Campbell–the man who shattered her belief in happily-ever-afters–offers her a sealed envelope from his late cousin, Cecelia, asking Joel and to put their differences aside and retrieve a mysterious package in their coastal Washington hometown.

Honoring Cecelia’s last request will challenge their convictions and test their loyalties, but through it all, will Ingrid and Joel be brave enough to uncover a twice-in-a-lifetime love?

Ope’s Opinion: Although this book had a book inside of it ( not something I really like ) it was a really good read. Nicole Deese used the book inside the book to give us a lot of information about the past. The other part of the story was so very good. There was a romance at the center of it, but most of the story was more about friendship and other relationships.

My favorite part of this book is the strong woman in it. Each had things they were dealing with, but they stood up for themselves and worked through the issues. I liked the friendships they forged and the love they showed each other.

I have read Nicole Deese before and I am looking forward to reading her next story.

Author: Mona Shroff
Publisher: HQN
Genre: Romance
Source: HQN ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: The Second First Chance is a big, wonderful, messy love story about family, heartbreak, strength and courage. It shows us that sometimes what we want is what we least expect, and that everything we need is often right in front of us.

Strength comes in many different forms.  

Riya Desai and Dhillon Vora grew up together. Sharing secrets, hiding in their tree house, they were playmates, best friends and later—as teenagers—almost something more. Until the devastating house fire that ripped them apart, claiming the life of Dhillon’s father and Riya’s big brother, Samir. Riya and Dhillon have barely spoken since that terrible night, but they both made big decisions based on that fire.

Riya has chosen to fight fire with everything she’s got, but it’s not easy. As the only female firefighter and one of the only people of color at her fire hall, she has to prove herself over and over. Plus, she’s hidden her career from her family.

Dhillon wanted to heal things, so he became a veterinarian. When a chance encounter with a rescue dog throws Riya and Dhillon together again, he’s furious at her career choice. After what happened to them, how can she run into fires on purpose? For Riya, Dhillon’s anger is unacceptable: How can he not see that she’s protecting others from the very losses they both experienced?

Ope’s Opinion: This could be a Hallmark movie if you took out the unnecessary foul language. Towards the end there was a weird scene, where Riya and Dhillon were mad at each other, then all of a sudden they were okay and happy with each other. It felt rushed to me.

It was interesting to learn about the culture, but some of it was hard to understand who was an aunt and who was related to whom. I did like the independent women in this story and those women not backing down when a man thought they were not correct in a decision they made.

The epilogue covered a lot of time and wrapped it all up.

…. On a Bookshelf near you!

In April I hope to read….

Publication Date: April 11, 2023
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Goodreads: Three friends. Two broken promises. One missing manuscript.

As a senior acquisitions editor for Fog Harbor Books in San Francisco, Ingrid Erikson has rejected many a manuscript for lack of defined conflict and dramatic irony–two elements her current life possesses in spades. In the months following the death of her childhood best friend and international bestselling author Cecelia Campbell, Ingrid has not only lost her ability to escape into fiction due to a rare trauma response, but she’s also desperate to find the closure she’s convinced will come with Cecelia’s missing final manuscript.

After Ingrid jeopardizes her career, she fears her future will remain irrevocably broken. But then Joel Campbell–the man who shattered her belief in happily-ever-afters–offers her a sealed envelope from his late cousin, Cecelia, asking Joel and to put their differences aside and retrieve a mysterious package in their coastal Washington hometown.

Honoring Cecelia’s last request will challenge their convictions and test their loyalties, but through it all, will Ingrid and Joel be brave enough to uncover a twice-in-a-lifetime love?

What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?

Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!

Goodreads: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ginny Baird brings her signature charm to this multicultural story about two disputing families sharing a beach house and the messiness that comes from falling in love with someone who your family is determined to despise.

Busy flower shop manager Evita Machado can’t wait to get to Nantucket. With a bad breakup behind her, relaxing at the shore with her folks and her brothers and their families sounds like the sure cure for heartache, and their vacation destination looks like an amazing place! But when they arrive at the quaint rose-covered cottage, another group has already put down stakes: the Hatfields.

Ryan Hatfield was Evita’s former crush from high school, but their business rival moms refused to let them date. Now history professor Ryan is here for a week with his parents, who won them this oceanfront rental in a society silent auction. Once it’s clear there’s been a double-booking due to a bidding mistake, Ryan’s mom digs in her heels, meaning to stay. When Evita’s mom won’t back down either, both sides tepidly agree to share the luxury accommodations by dividing the cozy space.

With the boisterous Machados livening things up and the strait-laced Hatfields tamping them down, can Evita and Ryan keep the peace between the warring factions while fostering a growing chemistry between the two of them?

This is an author I have enjoyed before.
It looks really cute.
Hopefully I will get to read and review it soon.

Publication Date: July 11, 2023
Publisher: Gallery Books

Goodreads: Four women come together to save the summer camp that changed their lives and rediscover themselves in the process in this moving new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil and the Peachtree Bluff series.

Nearly thirty years ago, in the wake of a personal tragedy, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for, and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.

June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, during a fateful summer at camp. They’ve all helped each other through hard things, from heartbreak and loss to substance abuse and unplanned pregnancy, and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne is confronted with a relationship from her past—and a confidential issue at work becomes personal—she is faced with an impossible choice.

Lanier, meanwhile, is struggling with tough decisions of her own. After a run-in with an old flame, she is torn between the commitment she made to her fiancé and the one she made to her first love. And when a big secret comes to light, she finds herself at odds with her best friend…and risks losing the person she loves most.

But in spite of their personal problems, nothing is more important to these songbirds than Camp Holly Springs. When the women learn their childhood oasis is in danger of closing, they band together to save it, sending them on a journey that promises to open the next chapters in their lives.

From an author whose “writing coats your soul with heart” (E! Online), The Summer of Songbirds is a lyrical and unforgettable celebration of female friendship, summertime freedom, and enduring sisterhood—and a love letter to the places and people that make us who we are.

Thank you Kristy Woodson Harvey.
I can’t wait to read this one!

Author: Melissa De La Cruz
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Genre: Mystery
Source: Roaring Brook Press ( Netgalley )

Goodreads:

One of them was driving.
One of them was high.
One of them screamed.
And one of them died.

When fifteen-year-old Chris Moore is tragically killed in a car crash, Argyle Prep is full of questions. Who was at the wheel? And more importantly, who was at fault?

Eighteen-year-old Spencer Sandoval wishes she knew. As rumors swirl that her ex, Ethan, was the driver that fateful night, she can’t bring herself to defend him. And their messy breakup has nothing to do with it – she can’t remember anything from that night, not even what put her in that car with Ethan, Chris, and Tabby Hill, the new loner in school. Was it just a night out that went very wrong? And is it just a coincidence they were all part of Argyle’s esteemed honor roll, the Headmaster’s List? In a place ruled by pedigree and privilege, the answers can only come at a deadly price.

Set against the glitz and glamour of an elite LA private school, Melissa de la Cruz’s first YA thriller is an addictive mystery perfect for fans of Gossip Girl and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Ope’s Opinion: The mystery kept me reading even through some parts that were a bit slow and some times not believable. I am not a big fan of “regular” people trying to solve a mystery that the police have closed the books on. It just feels like if the police can’t solve it, how can someone else solve it.

I had a couple of guesses of what really happened – I was not too far off, but I don’t think it took away from the story. Reading the podcast added some information and a different perspective. I do think Ripley the dog was my favorite character and Tabby my least favorite – this character being neither he nor she was distracting and felt like it was just thrown in – it had no real part to the story.

The ending was a good one – it answered all the lingering questions.

Author: Tif Marcelo
Publisher: Montlake
Genre: Romance
Source: Montlake ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: From the USA Today bestselling author of In a Book Club Far Away comes a delightful installment in the Heart Resort series about finding love that’s been right in front of you all along.

As the oldest child in his family, Chris Puso has always taken his responsibilities seriously. He’ll do whatever it takes to ensure Heart Resort’s success. Four and a half years ago, that meant marrying Eden, a woman he admired but didn’t love, to access a family trust that benefited them both.

Eden Puso, a.k.a. romance author Everly Heart, believes in true love—in her novels, at least. But her marriage to Chris was more about funding her writing career and supporting her family than finding her happily ever after. And despite their mutual attraction toward one another, they stayed loyal to the contract…for the most part.

With six months until the end of their contract and with their careers taking off, their marriage of convenience has become, well, a little inconvenient. A competing resort threatens to usurp Heart Resort, and Chris and Eden band together to preserve its reputation, including doing a retreat themselves. But as the retreat uncovers their history and their hidden love for one another, can their relationship survive so their partnership reaches its natural conclusion?

Ope’s Opinion: If you liked Tif Marcelo’s other books you will like this one. It is the second in the series, but could be read alone. It is centered around the Heart Resort. This one is more about Chris and Eden, but the whole family is involved.

I enjoy the easy read of Tif Marcelo. I did like that this was a closed door romance. I also like the fake marriage that you know has more emotion behind it then either Chris or Eden are willing to admit. This would be a four chair, but the middle drug a bit for me.

Author: Camille Pagan
Publisher: Lake Union
Genre: Romance
Source: Amazon ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Aly Jackson has waited her whole life to become editor in chief of All Good magazine. But six months into the job, she overhears her coworkers belittling her. Aly’s clapback? A very public, career-jeopardizing meltdown. To undo the mess, she agrees to a monthlong unpaid leave.

Reluctant but determined to turn misfortune into opportunity, Aly retreats to the Lake Michigan beach house her brother, Luke, left to her when he died nearly a year earlier. Except when Aly arrives, she discovers Luke’s slacker best friend, Wyatt, inherited the place, too.

Wyatt is unkempt, unmotivated, and totally uninterested in Aly’s desire to sell. Yet as battle lines are drawn, Aly wonders whether she and this wild card have more than Luke in common. But is she willing to swap her lifelong dreams for a shot at healing her broken heart?

Ope’s Opinion: I do not understand how Aly could have blackout moments and no one seemed to worry or question it except Harry – and he only mentioned that maybe she should see someone about it. I didn’t like the way the story started out at all, but I kept reading hoping for improvement.

I was disappointed that Aly didn’t seem to grow and change. She started out what felt like to me as weak, but I thought once she left her boyfriend and job, she would become independent and strong. I just found her whiney and irritating. She did have a lot to deal with, but it felt like there wasn’t any progress, then it was all better at the end.

Author: Liz Johnson
Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Christian
Source: Fleming H. Revell Company ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: When Eli Ross left Prince Edward Island to join the NHL, he left a broken family behind. More than a decade later, he’s broke and headed home to an uncertain welcome. He wants to make things right with the family he wronged, but his mom’s business partner isn’t making it easy. To top it off, the coaching job he’s accepted turns out to be far more difficult than he anticipated.

For years, Violet Donaghy has put everything she had into making Eli’s mom’s ceramics shop a success, and she’s not eager to forgive the man who hurt the family that’s taken her in as one of their own. But when the kiln at the shop starts a fire that nearly destroys the studio, she’ll need all the help she can get to save the business and their summer income.

Can these two strong-willed people come together to mend the broken pieces of the Ross family? Or will the ghosts of the past continue to haunt them?

Return to Prince Edward Island for a romantic story of family, forgiveness, and the power of love.

Ope’s Opinion: Liz Johnson knows how to write a great Christian fiction story. It is God centered, but not preachy at all. The characters are flawed and real. The story is very believable.

I really do enjoy the clean romance. The attraction is obvious without all the steamy details – my kind of romance.

The end of the story is exactly what you want and expect and the journey is amazing. Now we have to wait for the next one.